Air conditioning



July 19, 1938. R. ERICSON AIR CONDITIONING Filed Jan. 2, 1956 Patented July 19, 1938 v UNITED STATE may be washed an For the specific of .the air, the new proce thermodynamic principle compressed, if permitt room temperature,

work, will be cooled s temperature, and will a its moisture, depending upon the tive humidity.

In order t of the invention is during its expansio able engine w compressor to Applicatio relat 0 effect economy 11, to p eans for con ed to cool under d subsequently made to do ubstantially below room lso lose considerable of AIR CONDITIONING Richard Ericson, Chicago, Ill.

' 1 Claim.

es to an improved time, becooled, in wintertime,

e operates on the original relaanother purpose to cause the compressed air,

erform work in'a' suithich supplies power to the "airassist in compressing additional air, and, by this means, the outside power, such as electricity, required to operate the compressor will be materially The compressed ly freed from en winter time, the same ap alterations or adjustmen only to Wash the amount of moisture the required degree of humidity.

The preferred form 0 practicing this proce advantages, those complete facilities direct action, as th other fluids as in the ca ent mechanical devices In :such other mac means of suitable heat-exchanged from the air to the air. cooled, and, by

ers, the heat is extract fluid which must be heat-exchangers not As distinguished reduced.

air is washed and cooled by" passing it through a water spray and subsequenttrained moisture, and, in the parat'us by certain minor ts can beemployed not ail, but t o for conditi e. air itself cooled f from this,

f appliance emp ss has, bes f compactness, practically- 0 add the desired thereto in order to give it ides several other oning the air, and is used in place of se of a number of differfor cooling and treating hines, the fluid is first urther, direct-type being suitable for such use.

the simplicity and advantages of the new method and apparatus outlined abov Those acqu the new invention and the its employment from a ent preferred appli process illustrated specifica had in connection description.

ben

ance in vertical in the With the consideration 0 designed to practice the e will be readily apparent. ainted with this art will understand efits accruing from f a pressection and somesingle view of the forming a part of this hich reference should be following detailed ditioning air by I loyed for a 11 January 2', 1936, Serial No. 57,093

not necessarily, is

an air-compressor 18 of any appropriate type is driven partly by an electric-motor 19, the air external to the casing, being drawn into thecompressor,throughan admission-tube-2l,the air under pressure being delivered from 22 into one en same end with wate by water from any s pipe 25, the-excess wa tom of the tank throug cooling-jackets of s the air-c when leaving suclr'jackets discharge-pipes; 20 to any so means.'

Tank '23 bafiles extending alternat the top of the tank'and upwardly from the ,bot tom thereof, thus providing a tortuouspathwfor r-spray devices, 24 supplied uitable source by an inleth piping 26 into the, water,

flowing out through the air between and around them, all as is clearly; a d, at the ,endof such depicted in the drawing; an tank opposite to that where communicates therew fitted with a control-valve 29 c rior of the tank with an air-engine 32, the retary shaft of which is joined through amanuallyoperable clutch 33 with the shaft to the air-compressor |8, the air after performing its work in the engine flowing through conduit 34 which delivers it into a separator-tank 35 beneath a suitably-shaped baffle 36.

, Tank or chamber 35 is connected to the delivery-opening I6 by a flaring conduit 3' l having a louver-controlled opening 38 in its lower side, the upper part of the joined by conduit 39 to the conduit 28 a control-valve 4|, rator-compartment 35 having a drainvalve 42 which may be opened from time to time to discharge the accumulated water. I 1

An electrically-actuated fan 43 draws air into the casing l2 through the wholly or partially registering openings I3 and those of the damper the tubing or pipe 22s onnects the inte-- through ith, a discharge-conduit 28 z.

g, it will be noted that l I which give the compressor by conduit means 1 d 'of atank 23 equipped near the ter draining'fromthebot-1 ompressor, the water.

itable drainage is also equipped with. a serieslof ely edownwardly;v from interior of tank 35 being the lower part of the sepa- I l4 and delivers it through the passage 38 into the conduit 31 where it mixes with the treated air.

In general, the operation of this appliance is substantially as follows, assuming that valve 29 is open and that valve 4| is closed.

The electric-motor l9 and the air-engine 32 conjointly or unitedly drive the air-compressor IS with the. clutch 33 in operative condition.

Such air-compressor draws air from the outside of the casing into itself through the tube or conduit 2| and after its compression discharges it at a substantially higher temperature into the cooling and washing chamber 23, where it is Washed and cooled by the water sprays and then freed from entrained water, including that precipitated out due to the lowering of the temperature of the compressed air in such chamber, by passing around the several bailles of the series.

The water used for this purpose drains from such tank or chamber through the piping 26 and through the encasing jackets of the air-compressor and maintains the latter at a suitable temperature for efficient and satisfactory operathrough the discharge pipes 20.

Upon leaving the chamber or tank 23, the I washed, dried air flows through the conduit 23 into the air-engine 32 where through its expansion it does work in operating the latter, the air thereby becoming further cooled with a resulting lowering of its percentage of absorbed moisture, the air-engine, of course, assisting in driving the compressor, as has been indicated.

The air discharged from the engine passes through the chamber or compartment 35 into the conduit 31 where it becomes intermingled withthe untreated air flowing through the casing and such conduit by reason of the action of the electric-fan, the water condensed in the air during its expansion in the engine being segregated out in the separator 35 and'utlmately drained off through the valve 42.

Obviously, by controlling or regulating the adjustment of the louvers of the opening 38 proper conditioning of the air as it passes into the room through the opening I3 is readily attained.

In winter, or at any other time if desired, by

ber 23 will pass through the separating-chamber 35 and conduit 31 into the room, diluted or modifled more or less or not at all by the air capable of being fed through the housing by the electricfan.

By thus not only washing the air, but by also humidifying it in chamber 23,by properly regulating the supply of water to the sprays, the conditioned air is properly modified 'to render it satisfactory for use in winter when humidity is desired or necessary to keep, the room, steam or otherwise heated, in comfortable and healthy condition.

When thus employed, the compressed air may be cooled by 'the wash water and thus rendered properly modified to condition the air of the room into which it is delivered.

It is notessential that the compressed air do work in compressing air to be within the scope of this invention, the example given above being presented merely to illustrate how economy of operation may be efiected.

Throughout this description of the invention the term work" has been used in its broadest meaning as would be interpreted by those acquainted with the thermodynamics employed.

This invention-is not limited to the precise and exact details of structure and procedure hereinbefore indicated, its scope being defined by the appended claim, and it is to be understood that various modifications and changes may be resorted to without departure from the principles of the invention and without the loss or sacrifice of any of its material benefits and advantages, for example, the treated air may be mixed with a suitable sterilizing agent, as, for instance, one incorporated in the water to which the air is subjected.

I claim:

A unitary, portable, room, air-conditioning systeni comprising a power-actuated, dense-air, compressor-cooler-expander type of air-cooling mechanism, means manually to couple and un; couple said compressor and expander, means arranged primarily to separate excess moisture from the expanded air, valve-controlled means to pass either cool, compressed air or expanded air, or both, to said separator means, and means for directing said moisture-free air to said room to be cooled comprising a mixing-chamber provided with an eduction inlet for air from said room.

RICHARD ERICSON. 

